January 13, 2013

Georgia is the worst basketball team in the SEC. Mississippi State wins over the Dawgs 72-61, and it wasn't as close as the score indicates. As I mentioned, our schedule is among the toughest early season SEC scheds you will see with four of the first six games against Florida (2), Missouri and Texas A&M, which are the SEC's most likely teams to make the NCAA tourney. However, a loss to Mississippi State, at home, was our best chance for a home win this season.

Basically, Mississippi State committed to guarding KCP in the second half and we didn't have answers anywhere else to use the motion offense to work open shots. I'm not sure why, but at some point, we needed to find someone else, anyone else, to get looks. Mann scored 9 in the second half, but only one other person scored more than two in the second half when MSU locked down on Caldwell-Pope.

More disturbingly, we look like we aren't in a position play longer than about five strong minutes of basketball a game. We take crazily bad shots, randomly pass the ball around without purpose, we get beat underneath for rebounds, and we go long stretches of the game where we seem content, by design, to let the clock tick down to give KCP a three point shot. Whatever it is, it is not good basketball.

We only have three players in the top 66 players in the conference in Roland Rating* (a measure of a player's effectiveness and contribution to the team while he is on the court) in the conference. KCP (no surprise), Charles Mann, and Marcus Thornton (who is out indefinitely with an injury). When you consider that, it is sad to say, but our perhaps our best offensive play is to let the clock tick down to give KCP a three point shot.

I'll have more on this later today, but I'm done. Not as a fan, not as a supporter, but as a believer. I like Coach Fox. I think he has his heart in the right place in working with the players and trying to put them in position to succeed as men. We are in year 4 and we are looking at a worse season than any we had under Felton, especially when you consider how bad the SEC is. I don't see evidence he is the man to move Georgia to the next level in basketball.

When you consider that mere competence is the next level for Georgia basketball, I'm embarrassed to say we Georgia fans have been surprisingly ok with letting it get here. Well, I'm not ok with it.

4
comments:

I was there yesterday and it was a raving disappointment. As you stated, we seem to have no purpose on offense. We have only two potential scoring threats, Mann and KCP. We have absolutely no inside presence. We can't shoot the ball (~33% from the field). Can't make free throws (~55%).

The team does seem to play hard but, there is simply no talent. I also like Fox but, he is in year 4 and the lack of talent falls directly to him.

Like you, I like Coach Fox. But there are no signs of recovery. If more UGA fans demanded excellence we would likely get it. There's no reason UGA shouldn't be one if the top 4 programs in the SEC at minimum.